Marvin Weiss, 85, furniture store founder

By Clark Mindock, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: July 05, 2014

Marvin Weiss, 85, of Marlton, the founder of Viking Casual Furniture in Cherry Hill, died in Virtua Hospital-Marlton of a heart attack on Monday, June 30.

Mr. Weiss was a dedicated father who would take his family to Ocean City, N.J., every Sunday in the summer - the one day he had off from the furniture store. As a young man, his family said, Mr. Weiss owned a sailboat that he loved to sail.

He was a businessman who rose from his boyhood job as a paperboy selling the Camden Courier-Post for two cents each and making a one-cent profit, to being the owner of a well-known furniture store that his son now runs.

Mr. Weiss was the type of man who took it upon himself to give back to those struggling and the community when he could.

"He was a self-made man, he started his business in 1955 in the toy business and he had the concept of selling everything - toys, tools, housewares - for 88 cents," said Rose Weiss, his wife of 53 years and business partner.

A competitor came in and sold the same sort of stock for 68 cents, Rose Weiss said, so they started selling outdoor furniture - at the time consisting solely of redwood tables with two benches.

Mr. Weiss didn't only sell furniture, though. He would also help immigrant families by picking up used furniture and bringing it to them in their homes. If a house burned down, Viking made a point of donating kitchen sets to those in need.

"He enjoyed gardening, he enjoyed cooking - he was very good at making very ornate fruit salads and vegetable salads," said son Stuart.

Born and raised in Camden, Mr. Weiss collected postcards from the industrial heyday of the city.

"He had a big heart for Camden," Stuart Weiss said.

In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Weiss is survived by daughters Nancy Ann Aronson and Robin Lynn, and two grandchildren. Services were Wednesday.